Everything we know about Harry and Meghan’s baby

Here is the low-down on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s baby:

– Are Meghan and Harry having a girl or a boy?

Meghan has insisted they do not know whether they are having a girl or a boy and that it will be a surprise.

– How and when will the birth be announced?

When Harry and Meghan are ready. The couple have said they will only share the news of the baby’s arrival once they have had a chance to celebrate privately as a family.

The news is likely to be announced via their Instagram account @SussexRoyal and then by @RoyalFamily on Twitter, as well as in a timed announcement to the press.

– Where is Meghan giving birth?

The duke and duchess are keeping this a secret if they can.

Reports vary between Meghan having a home birth at Frogmore Cottage to opting for a midwife-led maternity unit at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey or going private, such as the Kensington Ward of the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London.

– Where will the baby fall in the line of succession?

Seventh in line. The baby will move Harry’s uncle, the Duke of York, down into eighth place in the line of succession.

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie will shift into ninth and 10th place, and the Earl of Wessex – the Queen’s youngest son – will drop out of the top 10 for the first time to 11th in line.

– How will the baby be related to the Queen?

The baby will be a great-grandchild of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh – their eighth – and the Prince of Wales’s fourth grandchild, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s niece or nephew, and a cousin for Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

– Will he or she ever be monarch?

Unlikely. Future king George, plus Charlotte and Louis, are all further up the line of succession than Harry and Meghan’s baby, so it is a safe bet that the throne will stay on the Cambridge side of the family in years to come.

– What will the baby be called?

Latest odds at the bookmakers have either Diana or Elizabeth as the favourite for a girl, followed by Alice and Victoria.

For a boy, Arthur, James, Philip, Edward and Albert are among the predicted choices.

William and Kate chose royal favourites for their children.

But Harry and LA-born Meghan could break the royal mould and take inspiration from American traditions, or perhaps the former actress will follow the celebrity trend of picking an unusual first name for her offspring.

– Will the baby be a prince or princess?

Not at this stage. They will not be a prince or princess, nor an HRH, because George V limited titles within the royal family in 1917.

– So what will their title be?

A son can be known as the Earl of Dumbarton – because a first son of a duke is allowed to use one of his father’s other lesser titles as a courtesy title.

Harry was made Earl of Dumbarton by the Queen on the morning of his wedding, as well as being given a dukedom.

A daughter would be Lady (first name) Mountbatten-Windsor, rather than the Countess of Dumbarton as daughters are not allowed to take on such titles due to male bias surrounding the rules of hereditary peerages.

A boy will one day inherit the title the Duke of Sussex from Harry, but a girl will not.

– But the Queen could make the baby a prince or a princess?

Yes. The Queen stepped in ahead of George’s birth to issue a Letters Patent to ensure all the Cambridges’ children would have fitting titles, but that was done well ahead of time and this royal baby is much further down the line of succession.

Under George V’s rules, Harry and Meghan’s child and any future children would eventually become princes or princesses when Charles becomes king, because they would be the children of a son of a sovereign.

So even though the baby will be quite far down the line of succession, the Queen may decide to introduce the titles early so they do not have to be changed later on – unless Harry and Meghan prefer to adopt more low-key titles for their children.

– Will Harry and Meghan hire a nanny?

There have been rumours that Meghan will turn to her mother, Doria Ragland, for help initially.

But it is likely they will hire a nanny eventually.

Harry has been close to all his nannies, especially Tiggy Legge-Bourke, and it is expected he and Meghan will arrange for a nanny to care for their baby while they are on official engagements.

Kate and William have the help of their full-time live-in nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo.

Meghan’s close friend, Jessica Mulroney, had two nannies to help her with her twin boys and younger daughter.

There have been reports the duchess favours employing an American for the role and would consider a “manny” – a male nanny.

– Where will the baby live?

Harry and Meghan have set up home in Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor Estate.

It was gifted to them by the Queen and has undergone renovations costing taxpayers an estimated £3 million.

Will the baby have dual citizenship?

Harry and Meghan could apply for their child to have dual US-UK citizenship.

Meghan is planning to become a British citizen – but at present is still a US citizen.

According to the American Embassy in the UK, a child born outside the US and in wedlock to a US citizen parent and a non-US citizen parent may acquire US citizenship at birth if the US parent lived in America for five years – two of which were after the age of 14.

Will they be moving to Africa?

Plans are being made for the couple to spend an extended period abroad, possibly in Africa, as a way of harnessing their international appeal and expanding on their Commonwealth work.

A decision is unlikely to be taken until 2020, when they have settled down with their baby.

A Palace spokesman said the plans were speculative.

The idea has raised concerns about the security cost to UK taxpayers.